What they know...

Kids always surprise us with what they know, what they've learned, and how much they remember (yes, they can also amaze with how little they remember but that's for another discussion). I wanted to share a little of the surprises I've heard around here lately. Jason and Beth helped Andrew paint the upstairs bathroom last week. But before painting, Andrew washed down the walls with vinegar. Did you know that smell is the strongest memory sense we have? It's true, and Beth exhibited this strength as she commented, "the bathroom smells like Easter egg coloring!" I thought that kind of memory was pretty impressive for four years old! She's only colored eggs, what, three times before?


And then today, Adam had me saying wow, you're amazing. We have been doing some preschool work with him as I homeschool the older two. I've given him pictures of letters to color and tried somewhat to emphasize a "letter of the week," knowing that he doesn't need to know his abc's anytime soon.
As I present each letter, I've added that letter to the refrigerator magnets (it's easier than having all 26 letters there for kids to toss around the kitchen floor:) Today Adam told me he was going to spell mommy on the fridge. It's so fun to see him learning by copying Jason and Beth (who are spelling all the time). Now, this is the most unique way to spell mommy but here's what he said, "popcorn, hat, this one, elephant, another one, and fish." Let me interpret - he put the letter P (popcorn) H (hat) L (he didn't remember L) E (elephant) I (another one he forgot) and F (fish). He looked at me with a huge grin and declared, "Mommy!" I didn't have the heart to tell him that not one of those letters is in the word mommy. I was too busy being proud that he actually knows some letters and wants to do something with them! And his unique style has me laughing that someday he'll spell his name, "alligator, dog, alligator, mommy."